One Analyst Just Explained What 650 Million People Using iPhones Means to Apple

The numbers.

Shares of Apple were up nearly 3% at Monday's close after analysts at Maxim Group reiterated their "buy" rating on the company while raising their price target to $180 from $171.

Apple shares were up $4.10, or 2.9%, to $146.39.

The firm believes that the company's iPhone user base is about 650 million strong, and estimates steady state sales of 250 million per year.

"AAPL's brand remains strong and continues to attract net new users into the iPhone user base, much the same way the Mac's user base has been increasing over the past 14 years that had led to consistent PC market outperformance and premium pricing power that leads to very attractive ROICs," analyst Nehal Chokshi wrote.

What's Hot On the TheStreet

All eyes on Apple this week: Apple's (AAPL) stock will be on the minds of Wall Street bit more than the norm this week. Shares of the tech giant have fallen 6.9% since the Nasdaq's peak on June 8 amid a broader selloff in tech. Not helping near-term sentiment on the company are two rare analyst downgrades that have questioned how big a seller the iPhone 8 will be.

But investors shouldn't be ready to throw in the towel on Apple by any stretch of the imagination.

After the deal was announced on Friday, U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) urged the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct a review on the merger's legality and possible harm to the economy.

"I am concerned about what this deal means for suppliers and neighborhood grocery stores," Khanna said in a statement. "The Justice Department and FTC must undertake a review that considers not just the merger's impact on prices, but also the impact on jobs and wages. We need to reorient antitrust policy to factor in the harm that economic concentration causes for American workers."

Meanwhile, Whole Foods shares are trading above Amazon's offer price as to suggest a bidding war may ensue.